We just got back from a training cruise from Ft. Lauderdale to Key Largo and now hold ASA 101, 103, & 104 certification. Will doing man overboard skills in Little Card Sound a severe storm rolled in and we hove-to while getting the boat ready for it. Just as we were preparing to furl the jib we were hit by either a water spout or a micro burst. Winds were later reported to be 70-80mph and a Catamaran was capsized end over end in Card Sound just to the north. Check out the new tell-tails in the photo.

We just got back from a training cruise from Ft. Lauderdale to Key Largo and now hold ASA 101, 103, & 104 certification. Will doing man overboard skills in Little Card Sound a severe storm rolled in and we hove-to while getting the boat ready for it. Just as we were preparing to furl the jib we were hit by either a water spout or a micro burst. Winds were later reported to be 70-80mph and a Catamaran was capsized end over end in Card Sound just to the north. Check out the new tell-tails in the photo.

If you had been flying a kite at the time you would have been in Kansas by now Dorothy - Toto or no Toto

What the course appear to have missed was "That it is never too early to take in or reduce sail" in some ways you were lucky that the sail was torn to pieces. If the wind gets into a furled sail and opens it up without damage to the sail - then the crew will have a different problem to solve.

What the course appear to have missed was "That it is never too early to take in or reduce sail" in some ways you were lucky that the sail was torn to pieces. If the wind gets into a furled sail and opens it up without damage to the sail - then the crew will have a different problem to solve.

Perhaps its just a more modern version: "If you don't reef, nature will do it for you."

Perhaps its just a more modern version: "If you don't reef, nature will do it for you."

Actually, we were reefed. Our mistake was that we were not under completely bare pole before the storm hit. At any rate, I was hoping for some less than perfect weather, for the experience, just not quite what we got.

Perhaps its just a more modern version: "If you don't reef, nature will do it for you."

Back when sails were made of natural materials rather than our modern heavy-duty dacron, kevlar, etc, etc, etc, materials that are used now...nature would blow out a sail if a sailor had too much canvas up for the conditions. The good of that was that one could count on the sail to break rather than the rig to sustain large damage. With modern materials, we can't count on the sail blowing out to save the day, though.